Really (uhhh...) "unusual" Italian glass wine set

When I got married in 1978, DH's best friend's parents sent us this wine set: one 11" tall pitcher with six (5 1/2" tall) matching glasses.

These people were an absolutely lovely couple, both of them born & raised in Italy, and I know they considered this a very special gift - as did we. (In truth, that is the only reason I have held onto this set for so long. Let's just say that it has never, in 38 years, been out of its original box - until now.)

Here is the box (!):


To be honest, I had always remembered the set as being made of some sort of ceramic, but having recently unearthed & opened the box (which was still sealed from our 1996 move...) I now realize that it is glass.

Now, I know the set is from 1978, and I know it was made in Italy. Can anyone provide any other info about it? Here are some photos:

the 11" tall, handled pitcher:

Note that the gold trim work is raised.

Inside, then bottom of pitcher:



The cups:


Inside, then bottom of cups:




Any thoughts?

Thanks so much!
-C-

 

Walter....!!

 

I'm not sure that Walter does glass does he? Though he's pretty amazing so maybe he does.

 

Whether or not he, himself, does glass, methinks he would know who does!

 

What's the jug like? My first thought is that those are actually espresso cups.

 

Wow. Very nice.

 

You know the photo of the bottom that has the import label almost looks like there is a smaller label peeking out under that import label. Any chance that's what it is and can you gently peel back a corner to see what it says?

 

Oh, never mind, just seen the jug. Espresso.

 

All BEAUTIFUL!!!!! Although I know zip about them!!!

 

I just love the colors !

 

The cups are 5 1/2" tall so I don't think it is for expresso.

 

Sangria ! It WAS the 70s after all !

 

Thanks, all, for the input!

Well, I only called it a "wine set" because that's what the folks who gave it to us called it... (I figured they knew what it was, even if I didn't!)

They owned quite a bit of land and a home back in Italy, where they spent the month of August every year, but in the US (upstate NY) where they lived for the other 11 months, the husband used to grow his own grapes & make his own (very raw) red wine. He kept it in huge jugs in the basement.

His wife would always use a pitcher of some sort to serve it. There also was always a bottle of ginger ale on the table to "cut" the rawness, for the wimps among us who couldn't swallow the stuff. She always served it in cups, not stemmed wine glasses.

Based on what they told us - and how they served wine at home - I just assumed the set they gave us was a "fancy" means to serve wine (homemade or not!) to one's guests. In any case, I don't think I'd dare put anything hot (like espresso) in it.

... the photo of the bottom that has the import label almost looks like there is a smaller label peeking out under that import label. Any chance that's what it is and can you gently peel back a corner to see what it says?

SIS, I hoped there was something under there, but it was only a bit of extra edge from the big sticker. Nothing else there at all (sigh...)

 

Might i point out that sangria is NOT Italian.

 

I can't thank all of you enough for the kind words and your confidence. You made my day brighter than it was an hour ago. It is an Espresso Service. The espresso was made in a metal coffee maker and transferred to the glass carafe. It was almost certainly produced in Murano but I couldn't possibly tell by what firm. The style originated with to Austrian and Bohemian glass of the early 1900's (think Moser).
It is meant to imitate the glass enameled cloisonné on metalware.

 

Walter so glad you stopped by! Hope you're doing well and as always you have such informative posts!

(Sorry the label didn't didn't turn out to have another underneath)

 

Told you so. I've seen china and metal espresso pots and cups that shape in Italy.

 

Walter, so nice to see you post! I'm surprised. I've spent so much time in Italy and I've never seen a 5 1/2" tall espresso cup. That would certainly keep me wired for the day. Still a beautiful set.

 

Walter, thank you so much! I really, really, REALLY appreciate your stopping by to comment! (You're sort of like royalty around here when it comes to Italian stuff!)

Well, Owned, how right you were - but I guess one man's espresso set is another (woman's) wine set...

Since I don't drink either espresso or raw wine from a pitcher (!), I guess this set will be going back in the box for a while. (I still don't have a clue what I'm going to do with it!)

Thanks again, all, for your interest and your comments!

-C-